Secrets Well Kept
by Bazil N. Green
Summary: Andromeda Tonks has a past that few know much about. So how is it that a sister of Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy married a muggleborn? Hear the story of this fascinating Black sister.
1. Prolouge

I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters featured in this story.

* * *

 **Prologue**

She had grown accustomed to keeping secrets. The secrets she kept dangerous ones, ones that her family would not approve of, nor most of her friends, nor most of her house. It was a dangerous secret, but the alternative was one she could not live with.

Andromeda Black was not like most Blacks, and this was something she was aware of. No matter how much she tried to pretend she was not different from her family, everyone could tell. She was not as quietly beautiful as her younger sister, Narcissa, and neither was she harsh and cruel as her older sister Bellatrix was.

No, Andromeda was different, because ever since her fifth year, she had been harboring a secret from her family, friends, and house. A secret that would soon be discovered, and send Andromeda down a road from which she would never look back.

It had all began at the start of her fifth year. Bellatrix was in her seventh year at Hogwarts, and Narcissa in her fourth year. It had been the year that along with her supply list for school, had came a prefect badge.

That day had been a good one, as her parents had actually shown what she thought may have been some pride in their daughter, although Bellatrix had been in a mood after that, as she had never been chosen as a prefect. That was fine, however, as Bellatrix was always in some kind of mood.

It was the prefect badge that had started her off on her journey. That was how she had met Edward Tonks, the Hufflepuff boy who had changed her life.

Prefect duty hadn't been how they grew to be friends and from there much more, no it had been her slipping grades in History of Magic that had lead her down that path. On Headmaster Dumbledores advice and the eventual requirement that she take up weekly tutoring sessions in History of Magic from Ted Tonks, the muggle-born who had changed her life so.

And this is the story of the unlikely couple, of a Slytherin Pureblood, and a Hufflepuff Muggle-born.


	2. Chapter One

Alright, so to preface this, I don't own any of the characters seen here that are also seen in the Harry Potter books, or movies.

* * *

 **Chapter One ||** _ **Andromeda**_

Bellatrix was not at the platform to send her sisters off, nor was Andromeda's father, as he had found himself busy with work. Narcissa, now a sixth year, and Andromeda, a seventh year, had been seen off only by their mother, who had given them a stiff hug and then left.

Andromeda and Narcissa were used to their mother's lack of interest in their lives, and so this had little to no effect on them. The two sisters, one blonde and delicately built, with bright blue eyes, the other tall and slender, with dark chestnut hair, a white streak hidden amongst the slightly curly hair, and soft brown eyes.

They parted ways without a word when they did reach the gleaming Hogwarts Express, Narcissa going off to find her friends, and Andromeda heading off to the Prefect compartments.

The Prefect compartments weren't full yet, although it was to Andromeda's slight displeasure that she saw Lucius Malfoy was already sitting in the compartment. The sixth year boy had shown too much of an interest in Andromeda for her liking, and it was hardly a surprise when he immediately stood up and walked over to her.

"I heard that Dumbledore was still planning on you having to take tutoring sessions from that mudblood Tonks," Lucius commented to Andromeda, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think I could have gotten through last year without hexing that filthy mudblood," he commented, clearly thinking that Andromeda shared his sentiment.

"Well then, it's a good thing you aren't the one taking tutoring lessons, now isn't it?" Andromeda asked, her voice hardly sounding amused.

Maybe if she could be certain that Bellatrix wouldn't go after Ted should she discover Andromeda's secret, she would have jinxed Malfoy just to shut him up, but her concern for what may happen to Ted should any pureblood extremist find out kept her from doing so.

"And there's the mudblood now!" Lucius crowed, interrupting Andromeda's thoughts as Ted entered the compartment, the Head Boy badge gleaming on on his uniform already.

"It's a good thing Amelia is Head Girl, there's no way I would listen to a filthy mudblood like you," Lucious added, even as Andromeda's want to jinx him increased, she was on the verge of drawing her wand, but one glance from Ted and she forced herself to resist the temptation.

"Amelia is a good witch, I'm glad she's earned your respect, Malfoy," Ted commented, smiling a little, although Andromeda could tell it was forced.

Lucius had no response for that, and so it was with a slightly stunned silence that he sat back down, as more of the prefects filed into the compartment.

Once the compartment was fairly full, Amelia Harding entered the compartment next. The blonde Ravenclaw girls family were from America, one of the few pureblood families to have lived in the states, they had moved to Britain when Amelia was ten. Despite Amelia having lived in Britain for the past seven years, she still had an American accent.

"Alright Prefects, I'm Amelia Harding, as most of you should know, and I'm Head Girl this year, Ted Tonks is Head Boy," she said, even as Lucius made a face at Ted.

"Malfoy, I saw that," Amelia said, shooting Lucius a glance, before fixing her blue eyes on the rest of the room.

"I hope to avoid any sort of house rivalry between the various prefects this year," she said, before starting to discuss the various logistical things, such as the various year's duties, the passcode for the Prefects bathrooms, when and where Prefects would be meeting weekly, and so on.

Ted had remained silent throughout Amelia's talking, which was probably for the best, as Lucius had continued to shoot Ted death stares. Finally, Amelia dismissed them all, and Andromeda was quick to leave before Lucius could try to start a conversation. She had only gotten down a few steps before she heard a familiar voice.

"Andromeda! Wait," Ted called from a few yards back, quickly closing the distance. "I need to talk to you about our tutoring schedule for this term," he said, now peeking into a compartment. "Maybe we could talk in here?" he suggested, nodding towards the compartment.

"Sure," she said, glancing around to see that thankfully, neither Lucius nor Narcissa were within earshot as she ducked into the compartment with Ted.

Once she closed the door, she turned to be surprised by a kiss. Pushing aside her momentary surprise she kissed him back before pulling away.

"What if someone sees?" she asked, sounding concerned, although Ted had a playful smile.

"Come on Dromeda, Bellatrix is gone- finally, what's there to worry about?" he asked.

"Narcissa for one, and let's see who's that blonde kid who hates you?" Andromeda asked, folding her arms. "If Malfoy found out he'd be sure to tell everyone, and it wouldn't be long before Bella found out," Andromeda pointed out seriously.

"As if I couldn't handle Malfoy, Dromeda, people are going to have to find out eventually," he said. "Why not now?"

"Ted, you know how dangerous that would be, you know how my family is!" she said, shaking her head a bit.

"I'd never let anything happen to you, you know that," Ted said, reaching forward to take Andromeda's hand, even as her expression softened a bit.

"It's not me I'm worried about," she replied, looking down momentarily. "If my parents found out how I feel about you, let alone if Bella did..." she now looked back up. "Ted, I don't like the crowd Bella's hanging out with, she could kill you," Andromeda said, shaking her head a bit again. "We have to be careful if I lost you-" she didn't finish as Ted pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Dromeda, you're right, we'll be careful," he said, hugging her for a few moments longer before letting go. "I was thinking three times a week," he said. "For tutoring sessions," he added.

Andromeda nodded. "That sounds fine, Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays?" she checked.

Ted nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking," he said, before glancing over her shoulder, out of the compartment. "Looks like the coast is clear," he said. "I should probably duck out," he added.

Andromeda nodded again. "Yeah, I'll see you soon," she said, and then he was gone. She waited several minutes, before slipping out of the compartment as well, and making her way towards the area of the train that her friends typically occupied. She wasn't extremely popular, but she had a few friends, two girls from Ravenclaw, a girl from Slytherin, and a girl from Hufflepuff were people in her year she typically hung out with.

Arriving at the compartment where her friends were, the rest of the train ride going fairly uneventfully.


	3. Chapter Two

As stated before, I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story.

* * *

 **Chapter Two ||** _ **Narcissa**_

Narcissa had always been the quiet one of her family. She didn't argue with Bella like Dromeda insisted upon doing, nor did she argue with either of her parents. She was not as outspoken, and proud in attitude as Bella.

She looked different from both her sisters as well. Dromeda and Bella had the same dark hair, even the same streak of white, their eyes were both shades of brown, whereas she, herself, had blonde hair, and her eyes were blue.

Her one similarity to her sisters was her house, but that was not a surprise, all of the Black family had been sorted into Slytherin.

As she entered the Great Hall and headed towards the Slytherin table, she spotted her sister, Andromeda taking a seat at the table, and to her displeasure, Lucius Malfoy slipping into the seat next to Andromeda.

Lucius's pursuit of Andromeda had been driving Narcissa a bit mad. She knew her sister well enough to see that Andromeda did not like Lucius, although Narcissa herself could not see why. The Malfoy boy was handsome, smart, and definitely, a Wizard her parents would approve of. She had never quite been able to work up the courage to talk to Lucius though.

Making her way towards the Slytherin table, she took a seat on the bench across from Andromeda and Lucius.

"Hey Cissy, how was the train ride?" Andromeda asked; Narcissa had noticed that Andromeda had scooted away from Lucius.

"It was fine," she replied. "And you?" she asked her sister, although before Andromeda could answer for herself Lucius had thrown an arm around Andromeda's shoulders, a smile on his face.

"The trip was just fine, me and Andromeda I here had a little fun-" Lucius began to say before getting an elbow to the ribs from Andromeda.

"Get your arm off of me, Malfoy, and don't tell lies," Andromeda said in a low voice, one that Narcissa recognized from when they were younger when Andromeda had defended her from Bellatrix.

Lucius had the smarts to listen, and for good measure, he scooted a bit away from Andromeda, who had gone to acting as if nothing had happened.

"The train ride was fine," Andromeda said to Narcissa, nodding a bit.

"That's good, I-" Andromeda was cut off as the first years filed into the Great Hall led by Professor McGonagall. Their cousin, Sirius would be starting this year.

The sorting hat was placed upon the stool, and after a few moments, it began to sing.

" _I have sat on many heads,_

 _I have sorted many minds_

 _into their houses that they belong_

 _and never have I been wrong._

 _So try me on, and I will see_

 _which house it is you belong._

 _Be it Gryffindor, the brave of heart,_

 _Or Slytherin, where lie those of ambitious goals._

 _Perhaps it is Ravenclaw, those wise and cunning folk,_

 _Or Hufflepuff, where their loyalty is just._

 _Do not worry, for I am the Sorting Hat,_

 _And I know just where you belong."_

Besides the first years, everyone applauded, and the hat did a sort of bow to each of the house tables. Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unfurling a scroll of parchment before beginning to read off names.

"When I call your name, you will step forward, take a seat on the stool, and put on the hat," the Professor said. "Adams, Lewis!"

A short boy with short red hair scampered up to the stool. A moment later the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

As the kid hurried to the table that had begun to clap loudly, the brash Gryffindors shouting and cheering.

"Adrian, Markus!" McGonagall said.

A boy with messy brown hair, and who was slightly taller than his classmates came up and sat down. After a few seconds of thought,

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat, as the boy came to the table, and Narcissa and the rest of her house stood up to cheer for their new housemate.

She sat down though as McGonagall called, "Black, Sirius!"

Her and Andromeda's cousin walked confidently to the stool, before taking a seat. The hat took a few moments longer than before, and then, as Narcissa got ready to stand and clap again.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, much to Narcissa's surprise as she shot a glance at Andromeda who seemed equally surprised. Uneasy murmuring that was drowned out by the Gryffindors shouting, as Slytherins whispered as to how strange it was, a Black sorted into Gryffindor.

Narcissa was so surprised she hardly heard the next few people being sorted, she faintly heard McGonagall call, "Evans, Lilly," and a girl with red hair step up to be sorted.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

Several more students got sorted, as Narcissa's mind reeled. A Black sorted into Gryffindor. It'd never been heard of. When her Aunt and Uncle found out that Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor... well, she was glad she had been sorted into Slytherin. She didn't hear any more of the sorting, and soon Dumbledore had stood to address the student body. Soon the feast was on its way, and before long the plates vanished, and Andromeda was standing up (with Lucius quick to follow suit) and calling out to the first years.

"First years, this way now, I'll be showing you to the dormitories," Andromeda said, gesturing them to follow her.


	4. Chapter Three

As always, I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Three ||** _ **Andromeda**_

It was Friday, the first day of classes had gone over with little fuss, although Andromeda hadn't had a chance to speak to Ted since the train ride here. She had hardly seen him aside from meal times, but even then it was simply stolen glances through the crowds of students.

Checking the time once more, she couldn't help but feel her heart leap a bit as she saw that it was five minutes till her lesson. Gathering up her History of Magic textbook, and her parchment and quill set, she left the seventh year girls dorms.

She was halfway through the Slytherin common room, washed in the watery green color when a surprisingly cold hand grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Where could it be that you're hurrying off to Andromeda?" said a voice which she knew belonged to none other than Malfoy.

"If I have to ask you to leave me be one more time, Malfoy, you may just find yourself at the wrong end of my wand," Andromeda warned in a no-nonsense tone, one which resulted in him releasing her arm, she turned to see a dissatisfied frown on Lucius's face, almost a pout.

"Really, I don't see why you're always so hostile, Andromeda," Lucius said, shaking his head slightly.

"Let me make one thing clear, _Malfoy_ ," Andromeda said, making a point to use his last name. "I'm not interested, nor will I ever be, you may as well give it a rest," she said, now turning to leave. She'd only gotten a few paces away when Malfoy's words stopped her in her tracks.

"Off to study with the Mudblood I suppose?" Malfoy called, speaking plenty loud for the rest of the common room to hear.

Andromeda found herself gripping her wand so hard, her knuckles turned white. She couldn't very well draw it, however, and chance showing she cared. It was with forced restraint, that she continued to walk.

"Oh, you'll regret ignoring me, Andromeda," he called after her. "Go on, run off to your tutoring lessons from that mudblood Tonks," Malfoy called after her, as she finally escaped the room.

He was taunting her, baiting her into responding, but she didn't dare, now, safely in the hall, she hurried off towards her tutoring lessons.

She reached the History of Magic classroom that Professor Binns had been kind enough to allow her and Ted to use. She was a few minutes late, thanks to Malfoy, but she knew Ted would likely understand.

"There you are, I thought you'd decided not to come," Ted said, a playful smile touching his lips as she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry, I had some delays in leaving," she apologized, already deciding not to trouble Ted with what had happened, it would only make him worried.

A flicker of doubt seemed to cross Ted's face, concern to be more accurate, but it quickly vanished as Andromeda took a seat next to him.

"I assume you settled in alright?" Andromeda asked, he always settled in well enough, everyone save Malfoy seemed to like Ted. The same could be said for herself, the only difference being that Andromeda didn't feel people liked her for who she was, rather for the reputation that the Black family had.

"Yeah, although that cousin of yours, Sirius, and the Potter boy have already caused some mayhem," Ted said, shaking his head slightly.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Is that so, what could they have possibly done? It's only the second day of classes!" Andromeda said, sounding rather curious.

Ted smiled a bit as well. "Well, they snuck down to the Quidditch pitch yesterday evening and managed to get into the broom shed," Ted said, shaking his head slightly. "Amelia saw them heading down from the Ravenclaw tower, and we managed to stop them before anyone could get hurt," Ted said.

Andromeda couldn't help but laugh a bit. "I can't say I'm surprised, Sirius has always had a knack for mischief," she granted.

"Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him and Potter this year," Ted said, although it was clear the whole ordeal amused him as well.

"Gryffindor though, that's a first," Ted commented. "At least as far as I'm aware," he added.

Andromeda nodded, subconsciously frowning a bit. "It is a first, every Black before him has been sorted into Gryffindor," she agreed.

Ted now frowned a bit as well. "Is something wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned, even as Andromeda shook her head, perhaps too quickly.

"Dromeda, if something's wrong, you know you can tell me," he said, watching her carefully.

She hesitated a moment, before glancing down. "I'm just worried about Sirius I suppose," she said. "Blacks expect their children to be in Slytherin, and when my Aunt and Uncle hear of this," she suppressed a shudder. "Let's just say I'm glad I was sorted into Slytherin," she said.

Ted frowned a bit more, even as he shook his head slightly. "But that's not right, how can they expect him to be something he's not?" Ted asked, sounding truly perplexed.

"My family isn't like yours," Andromeda said, shaking her head a bit. "There's a set way you're expected to act, and if you stray from it, there's severe consequences," Andromeda said.

"Dromeda..." Ted said, taking her hand now as a way to comfort her. "Have you considered that maybe your parents wouldn't care about us if they knew it made you happy?" he asked tentatively.

Andromeda shook her head. "Ted, you don't understand, you know how awful Bella could be, where do you think she learned it from?" Andromeda asked.

Ted frowned a bit. "Narcissa seems nice enough, and Dromeda, you know you're nothing like your sister," Ted said.

This made Andromeda actually laugh, although it wasn't a cheerful one like before, rather cold and humorless.

"You'd be one of the few who thinks that, Ted," she said. "Last name aside, people mistake me for her all the time," she said, sounding rather hurt, because, it did _hurt_. To see people jump out of fear when they momentarily confused her for her heartless sister. Bella, who had terrorized the school. Narcissa had the good fortune to look nothing like either of her sisters, but Andromeda had been cursed to look too similar to a sister with whom she never could relate.

Regersisting the almost hurt expression on Ted's face, she shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so pessimistic," she muttered, standing even as she slipped her hand out of Ted's grasp. "There's not much to study, beginning of the year and all, maybe I should just go," Andromeda said, gathering up her things and closing the short distance between her and the door.

"Dromeda, wait!" Ted called, stepping towards her, but it was too late, she had already slipped out the door.

Ted had never been forceful, rude or brash like Malfoy, and as such a gentlemen, Andromeda knew he wouldn't chase her down, although part of her wish he would.

She needed time to think. She knew she loved Ted, but it was because she loved him that she wondered if it wasn't better to break his heart rather than risk his life. He may not believe her family was as bad as she made them out to be, but with the crowd, her sister Bella had been running with, and the subtle support her parents showed towards Bella's activities, she wasn't sure what her family was capable of.


	5. Chapter Four

As always, I do not own any of the Harry Potter Characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Four ||** _ **Edward**_

Ted sighed, shaking his head slightly, as he leaned against the table. Even though it had only been a few days into the new school year, he couldn't help but feel things had been better between him and Andromeda when Bella had plagued the school's halls.

First on the train, and then just now, she was pushing him away. He didn't have much time to think alone, however, as a voice spoke up behind him, startling him greatly.

"A bit of extra studying young Edward?" spoke up a voice that Ted recognized as belonging to the Fat Friar, his Houses ghost.

"Friar," Ted greeted, as he turned to face the ghost. "I was just getting ready to leave actually, tutoring sessions over and all," he explained, picking up his textbook.

The Friar smiled slightly. "Tutoring with Miss Andromeda Black I assume?" he asked.

Ted frowned. "How did you-?" he asked, sounding mildly confused.

"I passed by the girl on her way out, and besides, many of the castles ghosts have been talking about it," the Friar explained.

Ted nodded slightly, although he didn't look too relieved at an answer.

"I'm not one to give into rumors, but word amongst us ghosts is that these tutoring sessions are a bit more than just study sessions?" the Friar asked, raising a ghostly eyebrow.

Ted's blushing gave it all away, even as he glanced down. "Look, it's not-" he started to say.

"Oh to be young and in love," the Friar said, shaking his head slightly as he smiled, leaving Ted to flush even more. "Miss Black is a smart young lady too," he added.

"Look, Friar, I should really be heading back to the common room..." Ted started to say.

The Friar now frowned. "Ah, I see," he said, seeming to have figured something out. Before Ted could question, the Friar spoke again. "You two are not seeing eye to eye? Perhaps you would like some advice?" the Friar suggested.

Ted felt himself blushing even more, by this point he was surely tomato red. He was on the verge of saying no, when he changed his mind, relaxing a bit. "Actually yeah, some advice would be nice," he conceded.

The Friar nodded, smiling a bit. "Well, tell me what it is that happened," he invited.

Ted nodded slightly, before launching into explaining how worried Andromeda had seemed, and how strangely enough, even with Bella gone, she seemed even more worried than usual.

"Basically, I'm hopelessly confused as to what it is she wants," he concluded, now focusing on the floorboards beneath his feet.

The Friar nodded thoughtfully, remaining silent for what seemed to stretch on for eternity. Finally, he spoke.

"The Black family has been around for a long time," the Friar said. "And they have always been a family that takes much pride in their blood status, as some witches and wizards do," he said.

"Miss Andromeda here, and I suspect her young cousin Sirius are a different case than the rest of their family," he said. "Miss Andromeda has always been much kinder than any of the Blacks who have come through these halls, and young Sirius, why he's only been here a few days and already he has shown to be much different than the rest of his family, the Sorting Hat saw that much," the Friar said.

"Miss Andromeda may very well be right, Edward, I fear that you do not quite understand how highly the Blacks praise their pure-blood," he cautioned. "Miss Andromeda, she does not appear to care about such insignificant things as blood purity, but that does not mean her family is the same," he said, now noticing that Ted looked rather distressed by this news.

"But," he said. "Love is a powerful thing, more powerful than many give it credit," he said. "If you truly love this young lass, and she feels the same way, there may just be hope for you two young ones yet," the Friar concluded.

Ted nodded a bit, digesting this carefully. "Thank you, Friar," he said, now standing to pick up his stuff. "I appreciate the advice, I really do," he said, now glancing at his watch. "I do think that I should be returning to the common room, however," he said, stepping towards the door.

The Friar nodded, smiling a bit. "Good night, young Edward," he bided farewell.

* * *

Alright, so if you guys are enjoying this story so far, feel free to leave reviews as that really motivates me. Suggestions as to where you might like to see the plot go, characters you might want to see, that sort of thing, are also totally welcome!


	6. Chapter Five

Again, I do not own any of theses characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Five ||** ** _Andromeda_**

Andromeda reached the Slytherin common room without too much incident, having managed to avoid Peeves, as she had heard the poltergeist down one of the corridors and adjusted her route accordingly. It was much to her relief, that Malfoy appeared to have vacated the common room by the time she arrived. The common room was rather empty, although there were a few of the new first years sitting at one end of the room, talking, and she recognized the kid that had sat down by Malfoy when he was sorted, she couldn't place his name, although she knew it began with a 's'. He was sulking it seemed.

Not much in the mood to talk to anyone, she slipped into her dorm she shared with the other seventh year Slytherin girls. The four other girls looked up at her as she entered, their conversation died away at Andromeda's entrance.

"What were you all talking about?" Andromeda asked, slightly curious as to what it was they were talking about.

The girls shared a few glances before Hyacinth Parkison spoke up.

"Well, we were just talking about how odd it was, a Black ending up in that mudblood loving house," Hyacinth commented, to which Andromeda found herself clenching her fists, although she didn't dare raise an issue to the vile phrase, it would only raise suspicion. Luckily, Mafalda Prewitt spoke up.

"You shouldn't use such a nasty word, Cynthia," she said, using her friend's nickname.

Hyacinth simply shrugged. "It's true, though, Gryffindor has always been a known, _muggle-born_ lover," she said, rolling her eyes as she said a more tame word for the people she so clearly despised.

"Anyways, it is strange, that cousin of yours being sorted into Gryffindor, he must be the first Black to be sorted so," Hyacinth continued, shaking her head slightly. "Shame really," she added.

Andromeda nodded slightly, holding her tongue despite the amount of effort it took- she had never been a fan of Parkison. "Yes, it is," she got out. "Well, don't mind me too much, I think I'll be retiring for the night," she decided, and before any of the girls could protest, she had climbed into her bed and pulled the rich green curtains shut around her bed.

Ignoring the whispers she could still hear from the rest of the girls, Andromeda settled in and surprisingly found sleep fairly easily enough.

She didn't sleep soundly, however, far from it actually. Upon closing her eyes, she found herself in front of the Black Family Manor. She didn't seem to be able to move, however, and she found herself now seeming to rush forward into the manor.

The sitting room looked similar enough to the sitting room she was familiar with, from the times she had visited the manor that her aunt and uncle owned, although the furniture was either newer looking, or in some cases, different from the furniture that currently resided in the Black Manor.

Sitting on the sofa, was a man she recognized from a painting she had seen in the upstairs room of the manor, he looked much younger but it was clear that he was her great-great-great uncle Phineas Nigellus, and sitting next to him, was a beautiful young woman, with dark hair, holding his hand, Andromeda could only assume it was his wife, Ursula.

Pacing back and forth in the room was another young man, who looked similar to another portrait she had seen- her cousin Sirius's namesake.

The only other person in the room was a severe-looking young woman, brooding by the mantle, her expression clearly dissatisfied.

It was then, that Andromeda heard the yelling, coming from the kitchen.

"You filthy blood traitor!" the shrill voice of a woman trilled, followed by the sounds of breaking china.

"Mother!" another voice cried out in response.

Willing herself towards the kitchen, her dream self-compiled and Andromeda found herself in the kitchen with Ella Black and, who she assumed to be her daughter, the only one missing from the sitting room, Iola.

Iola stood, wand drawn, but at her side, facing off her mother, who also had her wand drawn, and another piece of fine china levitating beside her. The look in Ella's eyes was one that would strike terror in most, but Iola stood firm.

"You are a disgrace to this house!" Ella said, and with a flick of her wand, sent the plate flying towards Iola, who raised her wand, and with a muttered 'protego,' the plate broke into pieces, seemingly hitting an invisible wall.

"How could love be considered a disgrace?" Iola demanded, even as her mother summoned another dish from the cabinet, although this time, Iola flicked her wand, sending it back to the cabinet.

"You are a Black!" Ella shouted. "Your duty to this house is to marry a respectable wizard, not some Muggle!" Ella shouted, and with a flick of her wand, she sent a bowl shattering against the wall, causing Iola to flinch.

"Then I will leave this house! If I cannot be with the man I love and be a Black, then I will not be a Black," Iola said defiantly, and Andromeda found herself admiring the girl's spirit. Ella, on the other hand, was anything but admiring.

"You would dare to take a Muggles name?" Ella asked, no longer yelling, although her tone was icy, and Iola seemed to be able to tell that something bad was about to happen.

"Get out," Ella said, her tone deathly quiet, when Iola didn't move, Ella rose her voice. "Get out of my house!" she said, even as she raised her wand.

Iola didn't need to be told twice by her shouting mother, and rather than take the time to go to the door, rather, using her wand, she disapparated, and as she did so, the dream dissipated as well.


	7. Chapter Six

As stated before, I do not own any of these characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Six || Narcissa**

The morning dawned bright and cold, typical of a day in September. Narcissa had dressed quickly that morning, layering on her scarf to ward off the cold.

Arriving at the Great Hall, she couldn't spot Andromeda anywhere along the Slytherin table, and although she loved her sister, she found herself secretly glad when Andromeda was around, Lucius hardly seemed to notice her, let alone talk to her.

Approaching the empty table, she chose a seat on the bench across from Lucius and the Prewitt girl in Andromeda's year. Mafalda was already buried in textbooks, apparently having already begun studying for her NEWTS, Lucius was flipping through an issue of the Daily Prophet, the headline article was facing her. It reported on more of the disappearances that had been occurring, and the picture showed a green mark going up among the stars, the one that people had begun to call 'the dark mark.'

"Anything interesting in the news?" Narcissa asked, deciding to be daring for once and break the silence.

Lucius shook his head slightly as he folded up the paper. "Just the same old stories about that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named fellow," Lucius replied. "Apparently his followers have begun to call themselves 'death eaters,'" Lucius said dismissively.

Narcissa nodded slightly. "I've heard of this group," she said. "Bellatrix mentioned something about them I believe," she said.

"She's your sister that graduated last year, right?" Lucius questioned, sounding politely curious.

"That would be her," Narcissa agreed, before she could say much more, she was interrupted by Andromeda taking a seat beside her.

"Dromeda, you look like you hardly slept!" Narcissa exclaimed, taking in the site of Andromeda, who had dark circles under her eyes, and whose hair was in a slight disarray.

"Tell me they have coffee," she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face as she poured herself a cup.

Narcissa smiled a bit, before passing Andromeda the cream. "Bad night?" she questioned.

"Tutoring with a mudblood is likely to make anyone's night bad," Lucius commented offhandedly, as he flipped through the daily prophet. Narcissa noticed that Andromeda seemed to frown, although she couldn't understand why, of course, some of the students may have taken offense to the crude term, but it wasn't an uncommon term to be heard, especially amongst the circles their family was a part of.

"That's right, you had a tutoring session last night," Narcissa said, hoping to move past what Lucius had said, at least for Andromeda's sake.

Andromeda nodded slightly. "Yes, but that's not why I'm tired, I just didn't sleep very soundly," Andromeda said.

Narcissa nodded as well, but before she could say anything, Andromeda focused on something across the room, but whatever or whoever it was, Narcissa couldn't see.

"I left something back in my dorm I think," Andromeda said, setting down her cup of coffee and getting up. Andromeda had hurried away before Narcissa could even get out a goodbye.

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This was a really short chapter, sorry guys! I'll try to upload another chapter by Wednesday.


	8. Chapter Seven

As has been previously stated, I do not own these characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven || Andromeda**

Andromeda had spotted Ted across the Great Hall, making eye contact, he had mouthed _'talk?'_ In response, she had nodded, as slightly as possible before getting up.

Hurrying out of the hall, she glanced around the entryway of the school, and after only a moment of looking spotted Ted. No one else was in the hall and so she hurried towards the base of the staircase where Ted stood. Not needing any prompting, she walked with him up the stairs. They didn't speak until they reached the next floor, where a sharp left deposited them by a tapestry, behind which was one of the many secret passageways that hid in the school.

"Andromeda, I wanted to apologize-" Ted started saying once they were hidden behind the tapestry, in the entrance of the passageway. Andromeda cut him off, however.

"I should be the one apologizing, I'm the one who stormed out," Andromeda said, now glancing down. She knew she should tell Ted about her dream, but she was worried it would only scare him when there was no need for that.

She had reason herself to be scared by the dream, and although she had been at first, she was starting to view the dream differently. She knew hardly any stories about her great-great-great aunt Iola, besides that she had been disowned for marrying a Muggle. She had no knowledge of what happened to Iola, but despite this, the bravery that the girl had shown in her dream, it had given her hope. If she wasn't going to be accepted as a member of the Black family, then maybe it was time she became a member of the Tonks family.

"Dromeda, it's also my fault, I should have listened to you, rather than debate with you," Ted said, still insistent on apologizing.

"It's forgiven," she replied waving her hand dismissively, before reaching down to grab Ted's hands. "I want to meet your family," she said, and she smiled a bit upon seeing the surprised look on Ted's face.

"I'm serious, you've met my sisters, and I'd love to meet your parents," she added, giving Ted's hands a slight squeeze.

Ted nodded, still looking surprised, but that surprise was melting into happy relief.

"Of course, I'm sure they'd love to meet you too Dromeda," he said. "I'll have to write home, but perhaps at winter's holiday?" he questioned.

Andromeda nodded. "I'll write home as well," she promised, not voicing that she'd be telling her parents her plans were to stay at Hogwarts. She knew Ted wished she was ready to tell her parents, to defy their wishes, but she wasn't ready to take that step.

"We better be getting back to breakfast," Ted said,before leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek. "I'll see you later," he bid, before ducking out of the passage, leaving Andromeda standing in the dim passage, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.


	9. Chapter Eight

I do not own any of these characters.

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 **Chapter Eight || _Edward_**

The next week or so passed fairly quickly, at least for Edward. It was the evening now, and he was waiting in the empty corridor by the Prefects bathroom on the third floor.

He'd gotten word from his parents that Andromeda was welcome over the holidays, and at dinner, he had caught her eye. A nod from Andromeda was all the confirmation he needed that she would be meeting him at the usual spot tonight. He didn't have to wait long, as Andromeda arrived only a few minutes after he.

"My parents got back to me, you're more than welcome to visit over the holiday," Ted informed her as she neared, and he was pleased to see her smile.

"Lovely, my parents haven't gotten back to me yet, but I wrote to tell them I plan to stay at Hogwarts over the holiday's," she informed him, as she stepped forward, slipping her hands into his.

"I know it's hardly been a day, but I've missed you," Ted said, his voice quieter now as he stood close to Andromeda, who in turn was leaning into him.

"I've missed you too, I wish we didn't have to be so secretive," she murmured, meeting Ted's eyes now.

He smiled a bit before leaning into to kiss her, they were interrupted, though, by the sound of glass shattering.

Andromeda whirled around, eyes wide to see Narcissa, standing down the corridor, a mess on the floor left from the inkwell that she had dropped. It was hard to say which sister was more surprised, and after a tense moment of silence, Narcissa turned on her heel, hurrying off down the hall.

"Narcissa! Wait!" Andromeda called but to little avail. "I need to go talk to her, wait here," she said, hardly turning to address Ted before hurrying after Narcissa.

* * *

Two chapters in one day, both are short, I know, but I decided to upload two. Happy Thanksgiving to the folks in the U.S.


	10. Chapter Nine

I do not own any of theses characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine** **_Narcissa_**

Narcissa wasn't entirely sure how to respond to what she had just seen- her sister, kissing a mudblood. It wasn't right if her family knew... No. What she had seen was against everything her parents had ever taught her.

"Narcissa! Wait!" she heard her sister calling after her, followed by hasty footsteps. She didn't heed this request, though, instead, she continued down the stairs, going dangerously fast. She had no intention of stopping until she felt Andromeda's hand close around her arm, forcing her to stop.

"Narcissa, please just listen to me," Andromeda pleaded, and Narcissa found herself surprised to hear that her sister, the strong and often stubborn sister, sounded close to tears.

Hesitantly, Narcissa turned to face Andromeda, who true to her tone, did appear to be close to crying.

"I don't know how much you saw, but you have to understand-" Andromeda began to say, but Narcissa interrupted her by pulling away.

"What I saw was you kissing a mudblood," Narcissa said, her own voice coming out surprisingly hard. She almost regretted her tone when she saw pain flash across Andromeda's face, however, the anger that followed this pain erased all regret.

"Narcissa, I can explain, if you'd just listen!" Andromeda insisted, but Narcissa simply shook her head.

"Explain what, Andromeda? Why you've decided to be a blood traitor? How you could possibly not see any fault with your-"

"Because I love him," Andromeda said, it now being her turn to interrupt.

"Wait, you what?" Narcissa said, her voice losing all of its heat almost instantly, even as she shook her head. "I don't understand..." she said, falling to a loss of words.

"I love him, Narcissa," Andromeda repeated, and despite how close she was to tears, she smiled. A brief twitch of her lips before her expression returned to a more severe look.

"I should, ah, write home, Mother needs to know about this," Narcissa said, practically mumbling now from the shock of everything before she could move to leave, though, Andromeda had stepped into her path.

"Narcissa, please," Andromeda pleaded. "You can't tell mother, or father, or Bellatrix for that matter," she said. "You know what Bella might do, what she's been doing with that crowd of hers," Andromeda said, her voice sounding so broken now, that Narcissa paused, searching her sister's expression.

She saw a desperation that she had rarely seen before. Andromeda was truly scared, and as far as Narcissa could remember, she'd never shown such fear towards Bellatrix, who had always been rather cruel. But now, Andromeda looked truly afraid, not for herself, no, for this muggle-born. Her resolve dissolved, and she shook her head slightly.

"You truly love this," Narcissa paused, deciding on what word to use. "This, muggle-born?" she asked.

"Yes, Cissy," Andromeda replied, a glimmer of hope entering her eyes. "I'll tell mother and father eventually, but if they find out now; if Bella finds out now..." Andromeda said, shaking her head slightly.

"There's no way to know what Bella might try to do," Narcissa finished, nodding slightly. She knew about Bellatrix's cruel tendencies.

"Alright, I won't," she promised, only to be surprised as Andromeda came forward, hugging Narcissa. She hesitated a moment, before hugging Andromeda back.

"Thank you," Andromeda breathed, sounding absolutely relieved. They hugged for a moment longer before Narcissa pulled away. Without another word, she turned and left Andromeda.


	11. Chapter Ten

I do not own any of the characters.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten ||** ** _Andromeda_**

Andromeda had spent the following weeks leading up to the winter holiday more apprehensive than ever. Narcissa had given her word, but she was still concerned. The only bright side of the whole ordeal was the fact that she wouldn't have to sneak onto the train to accompany Ted to his home for the holidays.

Winter break had arrived and with it the cold weather. Snow blanketed the grounds, giving everything a softer look while leaving the windows fogged over. Andromeda found herself waking up to a beautiful morning, one that could only be enhanced by the fact that she would be spending the winter holidays with Ted and his family, a setting that wouldn't require her to keep up the facade of an extremist Black family member.

Her bag packed, for the holiday, she left the dorm. Most students returned home over the holidays, and with Narcissa also going home, no one found it the slightest bit suspicious or odd that Andromeda was leaving. She wasn't nervous about leaving the school, what made her nervous was the actual arrival at Platform 9 and 3/4ths, and avoiding her mother who planned to pick Narcissa up. If her mother spotted her then the whole charade would be over.

She decided it best not to worry too terribly much about this yet, rather she would try to distract herself during the ride.

Distracting herself turned out not to be a problem, as Amelia had come running up to her in the hall. It turned out that Amelia's family had intentions of visiting family in America, but because of the somewhat stricter laws in America on wand permits and such, a visit to there would obstruct her studying for the NEWTS, so she had decided to remain at Hogwarts over the holidays, leading her to ask Andromeda to sub in for her to monitor the students on the Hogwarts Express.

This request added together with her cousin Sirius and his friend's antics helped to keep her busy plenty. They had attempted to leave the train of all things, she had caught them in the act thankfully, making plans which she confiscated- much to their dismay.

"Andromeda, you really have changed since you were younger," Sirius had said, dogging at her heels, the Potter boy not far behind.

"We can't at least keep our parchments?" James chorused in.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to confiscate them," she explained, continuing to walk down the halls of the train.

Sirius seemed to realize that there was little hope in convincing her to changer her mind, and with some grumbling him and the Potter boy let her be.


End file.
